


At the Crossroads

by Fallingtowardsoblivion



Series: Amelia's Merlin Bash [4]
Category: Merlin (BBC), Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1930s, Americans, Cinema and Movie AU, Deal with a Devil, Demon Arthur, Desperation, Faustian Bargain, Gen, Great Depression, Kissing, M/M, Merlin POV, Talkies, actor Merlin, vainity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-06-03 05:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6597901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallingtowardsoblivion/pseuds/Fallingtowardsoblivion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin, a depressed, washed up actor, finds himself at a crossroads. </p><p>Prompt: Actor, Demons or men, depression</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the Crossroads

**Author's Note:**

> Super depressed so I figured I would write another small fic. It's for my (way behind) Amelia's Merlin Bash. Yikes. (Never mind I have promised 4-5 people fics of their own. Yikes.)  
> Unbeta'd.

Merlin fidgeted, not really sure what to do while he waited. Or how long to wait. Or, well, if he should even bother waiting? What did that book say again? His Latin was pretty rubbish, after all he’d only taken a couple years of it in uni. It had said something about ‘waiting for the change of winds’… whatever that meant.

Absentmindedly, the actor bit his lip, gnawing at it anxiously.

This was stupid.

Correct that: _he_ was stupid and _this_ was absurd –

Really? What type of idea was this, trying to summon a bloody demon?! Sure, times were bad and all, hell, since the market crashed everyone and their aunty was scraping to make ends meet. But like hell Merlin would let himself fall from stardom to scrabbling for spare change in the gutter.

Merlin sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and kicking a rock near the  side of the crossroad. Waiting. Thinking. Mourning his lost career.

Merlin had been a star. He’d had it all and then a bit more; after all, being a movie star had its perks. But then talkies started coming out, the market tanked, and it came out that Merlin didn’t have the voice for the silver screen nor the talent to take up a trade elsewhere.

He had nothing, really, save his looks. And even those only lasted for so long.

Merlin had been pretty close to putting out like a common whore. They’d taken his house and his bank account had been lost. Now all Merlin had was his car full of possessions.

He’d been rooting through them, discouraged and teary-eyed when the idea came.

Make a deal with a devil.

Sure, it probably was a bunch of hoo-ha. But then again, maybe it wasn’t.

Maybe Merlin had a chance for redemption.

So that realization, well that is what lead Merlin to where he was now. Wondering if that hankie soaked in blood and rum was really going to do anything, if that tin full of snipped hair and herbs and a neat stack of cursive notes and requests was worth shit.

He waited longer, long enough to be mistaken for a hitchhiker by a stray automobile.

Finally, just as Merlin was about to pack up and vaguely contemplating how in the hell he would even work up the gull to put out for a hot meal and couple bucks, the winds changed.

Which, now that he thought about it, all was a bit cliché and obvious.

Turning, the washed-up actor faced the crossroads, nearly running into the man – Jesus, _sculpture_ – standing in the way.

Well, that gave a whole new meaning to handsome devil. Merlin thought faintly, watching with a raised brow as the demon gave him a once-over.

“Well?” Merlin said, channeling a lot more confidence than he had. The demon nearly cracked an obnoxious smirk.

“Is that any way to talk to a stranger?” The demon said, never losing that air of superiority.

“I know enough about you to know that you’re no stranger.” Merlin hissed out. Who knew demons could be so grating on the nerves? Wait. Don’t answer that.

“Hm. That type, are you?”

“Get on with it.”

The demon sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically and taking a step towards Merlin. It was probably supposed to be intimidating, but Merlin was too irritated to take a step back in turn.

“Well, little human, what do you want?”

Merlin crossed his arms, jutting out his chin.

“I want it back. All of it. My fame, fortune. I don’t care what it takes, I can’t go on like this,” Merlin’s voice cracked near the end, his sharp, firm façade beginning to sag.

The demon looked at him for a moment, eyes blazing golden in the evening sunlight. As though he were more than just a power-hungry creature. As though he understood Merlin more than even the actor could. As though he had been there one, too.

It was faintly unsettling.

Finally, the demon spoke.

“Alright, little human. I will make this deal. Ten years, and then your soul is mine to claim.”

Merlin nodded, feeling a faint crawling on his skin. He attributed it to the harsh, growing wind, ignoring the way dust was beginning to whip up into the atmosphere.

“We seal it with a kiss,” The demon expanded, as though Merlin were supposed to know this. And maybe he was. Maybe the actor shouldn’t have been so rash, so quick to jump on this.

Maybe it didn’t matter now.

Merlin nodded, leaning forward and yelping when the demon crossed the rest of the distance, dipping him into a devouring kiss.

He bit the actor’s lip, and when Merlin was finally righted, dizzy from the kiss and tilt, a finger to the lip drew back, revealing blood.

Looking up to curse, Merlin stopped dead, scanning the growing dust storm. The demon was nowhere to be found.

And so Merlin’s fate was sealed.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! :)


End file.
